During the days of May 21-22, 2023, the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) in Vietnam in Dak Lak province worked in cooperation with the Central Highlands Agro-Forestry Science Institute and the Department of Agriculture and Development. A seminar was held in the rural areas of Dak Lak province: building sustainable value chains for coffee and pepper, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, adapting to climate change.

IMPROVING FARMERS’ LIVES AND REDUCING THE ENVIRONMENTAL DESCRIPTION

Mr. Tran Nam Anh, Deputy Head of ACIAR Vietnam Office said, Vietnam is the world’s largest producer of Robusta coffee and black pepper, these two commodities are mainly exported. These two crops are mainly concentrated in the central highlands and provide direct and indirect livelihoods to more than a million farmers.

However, due to the massive development of coffee, pepper, and now fruit trees, the central highlands face widespread environmental degradation and inefficient land use.

According to Mr. Nam Anh, people are making extensive use of intensive farming measures, including overuse of fertilizers, irrigation water and synthetic pesticides. These activities degrade soil and proliferate soil-borne pests—perpetuating the cycle and causing people to use more and more soil-damaging chemicals.

In addition, the situation of leaching of nutrients and synthetic pesticides into the deep soil layer also endangers groundwater resources. Therefore, the central highlands are currently one of the most degraded areas in Vietnam.

Project “Strengthening the Sustainability, Productivity and Economic Value of Coffee and Pepper Farming Systems and Value Chains in the Central Highlands” (VSCOPE Project), funded by ACIAR; The International Agro-Forestry Research Organization (ICRAF) is coordinating with the Central Highlands Agro-Forestry Science Institute (WASI) to implement implementation by 2021-2025.

Based on a systems approach, the project will help improve farmers’ livelihoods and reduce environmental degradation. In particular, reducing production costs (reducing consumption of fertilizers and irrigation); Increasing resource efficiency (improving soil health and fertility through intercropping/agroforestry models); prevent environmental degradation and improve food safety; Use opportunities in the value chain; and integrate the system with other rural innovation programs.

dr Phan Viet Ha, deputy director of the Central Highlands Agro-Forestry Science and Technology Institute (WASI), said the Central Highlands are facing increasingly severe water shortages due to climate change and agricultural production activities. Unsustainable industry. For example, during the historic drought of 2016, hundreds of reservoirs dried up, affecting more than 165,000 hectares of coffee cultivation, with farmers in the central highlands losing about 40,000 hectares.

WASI conducted four experiments to measure nutrient leaching from coffee and pepper cultivation. The results of this study will form the basis for proposing appropriate fertilizers for crops to save inputs and protect the environment. The WASI Institute also carried out 30 experiments on soil remediation with lime and biochar in coffee and pepper cultivation. Lime and biochar initially had a good influence on the growth and development of coffee and pepper.

PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE PRACTICES

MSc Chau Thi Minh Long, Deputy Head of Agricultural Systems Department at WASI Institute, said that the VSCOPE project tested, evaluated and promoted sustainable agricultural practices, including intelligent irrigation systems. Adaptation to climatic conditions. The practical models used in farm households show that young coffee trees only need about 100 liters of water per month for irrigation and mature coffee trees about 200 liters per month.

In the first year of the project, the team of experts designed and tested a new irrigation protocol and further adapted it in subsequent years based on data on soil water infiltration, transpiration in crops and coffee production. Specifically, the project is testing a system for measuring sap flow, including sensors to measure transpiration from trees in real time to provide information on actual water consumption.

In addition, sensors measure soil moisture at different depths, providing information about water availability. During the coffee harvest, we can see the connection between the amount of irrigation water and production efficiency based on the yield and quality indicators.

From 2022, the research team will be working on a model for the mixed cultivation of coffee with pepper and fruit trees. Coffee trees need shade trees to reduce the intensity of sunlight to allow new coffee trees to grow well.

A representative of the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association said that coffee productivity should not only be “packed” by the number of tons per hectare, but also translated into the amount of revenue and profits per hectare. So here comes the very cool term: value chain. I think it is a good idea to start introducing emission curves in the coffee value chain and it is necessary to include this criterion in the project. It is necessary to calculate how high the CO2 emissions of coffee cultivation are and thus provide agricultural solutions to reduce emissions.

Studies on the coffee chain in Vietnam show that the farmers enjoy less than 10% of the total profit value of the entire coffee chain, this benefit is very small.

Around the world, people sell a cup of Starbucks coffee for the same price as Vietnamese farmers sell an oatmeal coffee. People trade coffee with big world brands, while buyers don’t know that it is Vietnamese coffee.

Previously, commercial coffee production in our country was separate, coffee growers, separate collectors and exporters were not connected, resulting in profits being shared between traders and companies. Coffee exports enjoy much that is not redistributed to farmers. Now, through cooperatives, businesses and processors, farmers have connected and started working together to redistribute value added. Coffee farmers need to benefit more from it so that they have secure production.

I see in the VSCOPE project not only the establishment of the coffee value chain, but in this project there is also a package of sustainable cultivation techniques that help protect the land and resources. To achieve the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, we want coffee production to be not just a question of cost, but also to look at the amount of greenhouse gas emissions per tonne of coffee. How much? The solution of planting coffee trees with avocado and macadamia trees together is very practical.